Ever the Same
by Burandei
Summary: They're so close, so perfect, and so ready for forgiveness at this point that it physically hurts. They want to kiss, but Naruto doesn't want to miss a single syllable and Sasuke doesn't want to miss a single movement.


**Yo yo, it's Burandei! This is most certainly NOT my first story ever written but it is the first I've ever posted anywhere, so it's expected that I'm a bit nervous about it's reception. I have faith in you guys though; I welcome your LOVING words with wide arms. Lol. You don't have to review, but if you do, constructive criticism is always welcome. Please enjoy and tell me what you think! (if you feel like it. ^_^)

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****Ever the Same**

Classical?

No. Too flat.

Rock?

Absolutely not. Too maniacal, even for him.

Pop?

Maybe. Depends on his mood.

Ah. Soft rock. Perfect. People around here don't do so well with this genre, so he'll have to grab a newer one, American if he's not mistaken, called…

"_Rob Thomas_… strange pronunciation…" he mumbles, plucking out the scratch-free piece of metal and plastic. "This had better work or I'm never trying again."

He carefully pursues his way towards 'The Battle Zone' (or the living room, if you prefer a more docile idiom). Nothing's upturned or broken, but the tension interlacing its way through the milieu is indisputable and doesn't seem to be leaving any time soon. Sasuke creeps his way over to the stereo they bought together and adroitly plucks the CD into one of the slots. The volume is extremely low as the first song rotates into playing, and that's perfect for the way his plan begins.

**Step 1: Get him to look at the raven**

He approaches the blonde on the couch they had also bought together and notices that he's still shaking from their quarrel. He's sitting up, but in a vertical fetal position with his head wedged into the fissure of sharp, angular knees and sinuous russet arms are encircling lengthy legs.

They were both very callous in terms of the physicality of the fight, but their words did more harm than anything else. Egos aside, they really said some spiteful things, going for every low blow known to man.

Every subject that had once been taboo was now an 'open season' for their vicious psyches.

Sasuke shakes his head clear of the alarming images and comes to a rest against the back of the couch; Naruto quells his shaking, unfurling himself into a more upright position and forcibly wipes away any remaining tears. God knows the bastard doesn't deserve to see them. He might actually try to express regret for them.

"We need to talk."

And Naruto can't help but snort at the phrase.

"Yeah, because we haven't done enough of that yet."

Sasuke growls very quietly and tapers his gaze. Naruto just doesn't know when to get serious, does he?

"Stop being a moron about this and listen."

And apparently neither does Sasuke. Insults are second nature to him; a defense of sorts. Naruto should've realized this by now.

Said blonde bristles—almost like a feline, the raven notes—and his back tightens.

"Stop fucking insulting me and maybe I will!"

His voice is hoarse form crying and he clenches his fists in a desperate attempt to hold off his next attack. He doesn't want to end up hitting Sasuke again, but if he has to…

Sasuke holds back one of his nastier comments and breathes in and out a few times. He doesn't have to be the bigger person, but he knows that he has to make all of this right if he'll never be able to see his most precious person again.

"I…I love you, you know that?"

A shocked sapphire stare finally meets his desperate obsidian gaze and he can't help the petite smile that flows over his face; it is an action that he knows his precious person rarely ever sees.

Step 1 complete.

**Step 2: Get him into the raven's arms**

Thankfully Naruto has to stand up, looking uncomfortable staring at the raven like he had been, and he creates a contemptuous stance, not knowing if this is merely a ploy to get him to bend to his lover's will or if this is what he knows is almost impossible.

He's shocked, yes, but there's still some antipathy floating around.

"And?"

It's a more discordant side of the blonde Sasuke rarely ever sees outside of their bedroom, and he won't lie and say it doesn't bother him, because right now it most certainly does.

"We BOTH said some things that weren't necessary…mine maybe more unnecessary than yours…and I'm sorry…"

Naruto's stance becomes impartial and he revels in the feeling of complete control.

"…thanks but I'm still angry."

"The fuck! What the hell do you want me to say?"

"I want you to mean it—don't roll you goddamn eyes—I don't want to just see the words coming out of your mouth, asshole."

And here's his opening. Sasuke snaps his mouth shut and restricts his gaze even further. Without warning he snags the blonde's shoulders and seizes him onto his own chest over the couch. Naruto gasps as his shin slams into the back of the couch and his wrists creak when he braces himself over his lovers' chest. The physical pain however is nothing compared to how emotionally stunted he feels now. It's a whirlwind of a hurricane he's not sure he can tolerate.

Sasuke smiles into the blonde hair that sways every-which-way and squeezes his lover even tighter, reveling in that wonderful scent only he knows so intimately.

Step 2 complete.

**Step 3: Let's boogie!**

The raven lets up on his blonde, sensing his discomfort, and readjusts his grip, encircling that stilted waist carefully and pulling him flush against his body. He then slowly penguin-walks them back towards the stereo. With a fleeting look he notes that his timing is perfect. The third song rotates on and Sasuke quickly cranks up the volume. The bass clouts loudly and suddenly and Naruto shrieks out his surprise, clinging harder to the ever-tense body in front of him.

The Uchiha realizes that the song is a little more upbeat than he'd imagined, but the piano and its slow tempo seems to neutralize it.

"Bastard! What the fuc—"

"Shut up and enjoy this."

Sasuke lowers his head to rest it on the juncture of Naruto's taut neck, his lips settling just barely on the lobe of his most precious persons' ear.

"_We were drawn from the weeds; we were brave like soldiers falling down under the pale moonlight."_

He sincerely hopes that he's translated the words correctly, because he's pretty sure this is his one and only chance. The blonde clenches his arms on the ravens' back.

"_You were holding to me like a someone broken and I couldn't tell you but I'm telling you now."_

Sasuke feels incredibly embarrassed when he begins to sway their hips slowly. He doesn't know much about dancing in general, but the basics seem to be entrenched into his musculature.

"_Just let me hold you while you're falling apart. Just let me hold you so we both fall down."_

The grip gets tighter and Sasuke feels the tell-tale signs of a choked sob or two.

"_Fall on me. Tell me everything you want me to be. Forever with you, forever in me. Ever the same."_

The crying never comes and they've moved towards the middle of the living room. The light from the setting sun washes over them resplendently, almost setting Naruto on fire with intense brilliance. Sasuke's heart, amidst the erratic dance it's performing, nearly stops from the sight alone.

"_We would stand in the wind; we were free like water, flowing down, under the warmth of the sun."_

Sasuke tilts the down-trodden blonde's head up to his own benevolent stare and pulls him even closer, their own somnolent cadence somehow mingling perfectly with the song's now binary measure. The cerulean in his loves' eyes glisten with those private tears.

"_Now it's cold and we're scared, and we've both been shaken. Look at us, man, this doesn't need to be the end."_

And through the haze of the approaching night, Naruto realizes that his most precious person is…apologizing.

Or begging.

"_Just let me hold you while you're falling apart. Just let me hold you so we both fall down."_

With his head still held so amorously, Naruto smiles, the tears falling without the prospect of pain and revulsion swimming through each stream.

"_Fall on me, tell me everything you want me to be. Forever with you, forever in me, ever the same," _their bodies move as one unabashedly through the purpling dusk sky shining through their large window, and their movements become slower, more…ardent, _"Call on me, I'll be there for you and you'll be there for me. Forever it's you, forever in me, ever the same…"_

They're so close, so perfect, and so ready for forgiveness at this point that it physically hurts. They want to kiss, but Naruto doesn't want to miss a single syllable and Sasuke doesn't want to miss a single movement.

"_You may need me there to carry all you weight, but you're no burden I assure," _Sasuke pulls Naruto's head onto his shoulder and kisses his crown gently, _"You tide me over with a warmth I'll not forget, but I can only give you love…"_

And though the song is nearing its end, Sasuke doesn't finish, finding the next few words necessary to drive home his apology.

"…but I can only…give you love…"

He rests his forehead against a slightly sweating tan one and smiles once more, finding it strange that he is still able to do so because he'd always thought that, after this long, the action would start to strain his face.

Naruto suddenly feels as though his heart could burst from all that has occurred, and he realizes that if he were to die at this very moment, he would leave without any regrets.

This is the perfect world that both broken teens wish they'd had when they were younger, instead of all of the pure loathing, the gallons of familial blood spilt in the name of justice, the constant curses to their existence, the impossibly high expectations, the self-punishments…

"My god, Sasuke…" comes the clenched sob of relief and disbelief. "…I'm not angry…not anymore…"

"Good."

The raven's reply is full of relief as well and he stops their dancing.

"You mean more to me than you ever thought, Naruto," Sasuke murmurs, holding his lover's face dexterously yet in a familiar steel grip. He has to let go eventually, he knows that, but right now time will have to wait.

"You do too, Sasuke…" Naruto smiles his meg-watt smile and reaches up on tip-toe to meet his beloved's lips. "I love you more than you could ever imagine."

They're even closer and it feels like they haven't seen or touched each other in ages. Lips are mere centimeters apart and eyes are almost fully lidded with undying passion.

So, so close…

Night drops into the background and the stars are shining in all of their deadly radiance. It's a little colder out now, but the two prostrate figures barely swaying in the moderately furnished living room do not feel that shift. All that matters now is how close they've become, how desperate they are for _desired_ contact, how…happy they feel for the first time in a long while.

It is divine.

Naruto wishes that others could know this feeling, this wonderful explosion of chemicals and emotions; Sasuke wishes that at least his mother were here to witness her most precious person finally finding what she'd hoped to find with Fugaku. They both want the impossible, but they know that some things just aren't meant to be.

This however is another matter entirely.

A strong will has allowed them both what they desire more than sex:

A companion.

Someone to talk to.

A person to help heal your wounds.

A love.

Eternity in one special parcel.

The kiss is broken in affordance of oxygen, and smooth, dry foreheads meet in a soft _thunk_. Traces of tears grace both faces equally and similarly tearful hearts explode in muted shock.

They are finally free.

Delicate, snow-white fingers thread themselves through, tan, slightly calloused digits and they squeeze hard, afraid to let go, as if doing so will be the end of time itself.

"Why are you crying Naruto?"

A slow, languid press of bruised lips and then a warm, almost torturously boiling touch of russet hands against drying, paper-white cheeks.

"Because…you are my everything."

**Fin**


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